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Mustapha Zaeed
Mustapha Zaeed, also known as the Black Priest of Kabul, is a terrorist. History Early History Mustapha Zaeed was born Saudi Arabia, and grew up fighting for fundamentalist Islamic terrorist groups for nations such as Afghanistan and Sudan. He also trained to be a qualified mullah (a Muslim learned in Islamic theology and sacred law). Zaeed's actions during this time earned him the title the Black Priest of Kabul, a title that some Muslims in nations such as the United Arab Emirates wary of Zaeed, and also a position on the Mossad's Red List. Eventually, Zaeed began researching the Golden Capstone of the Great Pyramid and its relationship with the Tartarus sunspot alignment event. Discovering that if the ritual of power was performed while a recess in the Capstone contained a deben of the performer's homeland's soil would grant 1,000 years of unrivaled power, Zaeed convinced his fellows that this could provide them with a chance to create a world of Islamic rule. At some stage, Zaeed was targeted for assassination by Benjamin Cohen of Israel's Sayaret Matkal. Zaeed was in Kandahar when Cohen located and attempted to snipe him, however the shot instead severing the lobe of Zaeed's left ear. Before Cohen could take another shot, Zaeed managed to escape. In 1987, Zaeed was hit by a Soviet fragmentation grenade, resulting in his right leg becoming severely burned and damaging the muscles so badly that he would barely manage to walk for several years. In spite of his injury, Zaeed continued his research into the location of the Capstone Pieces in relation to the seven Ancient Wonders. Zaeed managed to obtain a copy of the Callimachus Text, and despite it being written in the Word of Thoth, a mysterious ancient language that only the Oracle of Siwa could understand, Zaeed managed to become able to understand its first four dialects through patience and discipline. Through this, Zaeed managed to determine the relative locations of the first four Pieces of the Capstone; the Colossus of Rhodes Piece in an old Sudan mine, the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Pieces at Hamilcar's Refuge and the Winged Victory statue in the Louvre holding the Statue of Zeus Piece. Throughout the 1990's, Zaeed began retraining his leg muscles so that he would be able to lead teams through the trap guarded mines and tombs to the Capstone Pieces. He also managed to uncover more information regarding the Wonders and the Piece locations, such as obtaining a suspected image of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the connection between the Luxor obelisks and the tomb of Alexander the Great. By early 2001, Zaeed's leg was close to fully recovering that he began assembling a team to retrieve the Pieces. However, afer the 9/11 attacks resulted in an allied invasion of Afghanistan, Zaeed was soon captured by the Americans. He was eventually sent to Guantanamo Bay for imprisonment, and at some stage over the next few years he was questioned by Marshall Judah of the CIEF on what he knew about the Capstone and had a tracking imlant embedded in his neck. Seven Ancient Wonders In March 2006, a team formed from a coalition of small nations led by Jack West Jr encountered difficulty as they were attempting to locate the next two locations for the Capstone Pieces, and so reluctantly decided that they needed to liberate Zaeed to use his assistance. Cohen, who was on the team, was outraged by the idea, but soon relented and provided details on Zaeed's cell within Camp Delta. While the rest of the team distracted the Marine forces on the island, Jack and Zoe Kissane used their Gull Wings to infiltrate the prison and breach Zaeed's hut. Zaeed initially assumed they were some of his fellow Islamic fundamentalists come to rescue him, but quickly realised this was not the case when he saw who his rescuers were. Zaeed was wary of the pair until Jack mentioned that they needed his help with the Capstone and Wonders, and so, seeing a chance to take advantage of the opportunity and claim power for his people, he agreed. After warning them about his tracking implant, Zaeed was carried by Jack to the Halicarnassus and flown away from Guantanamo. Once they were away and his implant disabled, Zaeed stared cooly at the latest Siwa Oracle, Lily, before speaking, noting with some distaste the presence of Cohen (while also mocking him for his near miss years earlier), but was pleased to see one of Sheik Abbas's sons, Zahir, among the team. After Jack filled him in on their difficulty with the locations for the Zeus and Artemis Pieces, Zaeed confirmed Epper's suspicion that the latter was kept by the Catholic Church at St. Peter's Basilica. He then went on to explain that the Zeus Piece was not with the statue of Zeus itself, but with the Winged Victory that had once been part of it and was now kept in the Louvre. As the Halicarnassus made its way to Paris, the still-handcuffed Zaeed spoke to Zahir when he passed by, noting his surprise at Israel's participation in the mission. Unsurprised to learn the Mossad had threatened to expose the team if Cohen wasn't allowed to join them, Zaeed went on to suggest to Zahir that fellow brethren of Allah should stand together when the time came. While he did not respond to Zaeed's words, Zahir could not help but mull them over. Zaeed remained onboard the Halicarnassus with Sky Monster while the split-up team recovered the Zeus Piece and went to observe the Artemis Piece. Jack's team took Zaeed with them back to Victoria Station once they retrieved the Zeus Piece, with Zahir and Cohen escorting him down the air-stairs. Zaeed, having only just extracted a hidden blade from his pants and was seconds away from stabbing Cohen in an attempt to escape, found his plan scuppered when they suddenly came under fire from the Judah's men. Using the air-stairs as cover, Zaeed fled back into the Halicarnassus, which soon took off after Lily was brought back on board. With the loss of the Capstone Piece and the revelation that the rest of their team had been captured by the Europeans, the distressed Zahir accused Cohen of selling them out, and Zaeed chimed in his agreement. Before the tension could escalate, Jack ordered everyone to stop and, rather than give up, decided that they had to locate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and retrieve its Piece. Zaeed convinced them that they should recover his notes from the camp he had been captured at, and while Jack was distracted, Zaeed collected his box of sand from the Arabian Peninsular and activated a hidden beacon before they departed. Zaeed's notes proved useful as they soon determined the location of the Hanging Gardens beneath a waterfall in Iraq, and with the Americans closing in on them, Zaeed suggested that they use the Priests' Entrance to escape once they had the Piece. After they got past the first trap, however, they were confronted by a group of Sayaret Matkal led by Avenger, and Zaeed barely suppressed his disdain for the Israelis and their ignorance as they made their way through the Garden's traps. After Jack and Zahir were left on the ceiling shrine after giving Avenger the Piece, Zaeed began fleeing back through the stalactite before Avenger could turn on him. As the American breached the Gardens, Zaeed made his way down the shaft of the Priests' Entrance in the ziggurat, and encountered a trap which he knew how to get by safely. Jack and Zahir arrived moments later and got caught in the trap, and asked for Zaeed's help. The terrorist refused, thanking them for their freeing him so that he could continue his quest, and instead revealed that Epper had neglected to tell him that to ensure the ceremony that weakened the Tartarus sunspot worked, Lily's life would need to be sacrificed. After emerging from the Gardens, Zaeed, knowing that Jack and Zahir would make it out soon and, in need of a way to Giza, hid nearby and watched as they made their way to the Halicarnassus, sneaking on board before the plane took off and grabbing his box of Arabian sand. While the Coalition team and the CIEF battled over the Great Pyramid's platform, Zaeed managed to make his way onto the scaffold and attempted to grab Alexander to use as a sacrifice in the ritual. After Lily spotted him, she called for Zaeed to use her instead, to which the terrorist agreed. After removing the American soil and replacing it with his own, Zaeed began the rtual of power, and soon the intensified light from the Tartarus sunpot struck the Capstone, and Zaeed's actions succeeded. Zaeed turned to Jack, victoriously claiming that his people would now rule the Earth, and dared Jack to fire his gun at him. After Jack pulled the trigger, Zaeed was stunned as he was hit in the chest. When he questioned how that was possible, Jack revealed he had known Zaeed had snuck onto his plane, and so had swapped the sand in his box with the dirt of his own homeland, whom Zaeed had performed the ritual for. Zaeed realised with horror that he had given Australia the power of Tartarus, and seconds later died from his wound. Personality . Trivia . Category:Characters Category:Saudi Arabian Characters Category:Seven Ancient Wonders Category:Deceased Characters Category:Huntsman Characters Category:Antagonists